New Delhi [India], March 6 (ANI): Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday lauded the Supreme Court order on pleas against the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 and said it is 'a stinging rebuke to the Modi Government's systematic efforts to dilute the institutions and regulatory systems' for ecological conservation in the country.

'The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 was among the most draconian laws introduced by the Union Government. Ever since it was introduced and bulldozed through Parliament, @INCIndia and I have taken a consistent stand against this law. Attached is the statement that I had issued on August 2nd, 2023, regarding these laws,' Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

The Supreme Court on March 4 upheld the landmark Supreme Court judgment in T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India in December 1996 which ruled that the definition of forests would be understood by its 'broad and all-encompassing' dictionary meaning, he said.

'It effectively overturns one of the most deleterious provisions introduced by the Modi Government's amendment to the Forest Act in 2023, which restricts the definition of 'forest' to the categories of notified forests and areas recorded in government records as forests on or after October 25, 1980,' the Congress leader added.

He further said that the Modi Government's amendments would have attempted to limit the total coverage of forests in the country to about 7.13 lakh sq km, excluding an addition 1.97 lakh sq km that would be included under forests by the dictionary definition of the word.

'The Court has even cracked down on States and UTs that have failed to implement the Rules of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023. It has warned that it will hold Chief Secretaries of the States personally liable if they fail to constitute these committees within a month and prepare a consolidated record of these lands within the next six months,' he said.

The Congress leader said that this a welcome development.

He said that, however, the Supreme Court's intervention only undoes the second issue 'I had raised in my statement regarding the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act. There is a lot more that has to be done to undo the full extent of the damage done by the Government.'

In a letter dated of August 2, 2023, Jairam Ramesh alleged that the manner in which the forest bill has been 'bulldozed' through Parliament reflects the Modi government's mindset and the 'vast gap that exists between its global talk and domestic walk' on issues of environment, forests and tribal rights. (ANI)